Hampton Roads LEGO User Group
(established 2002)
Next Meeting:
13 APRIL 1pm-3pm.
ODU Innovation Research Park #2
1st floor conference room
4211 Monarch Way #116, Norfolk
We normally we meet on the 2nd Sunday of each month, and plan to be at the ODU location for the next few meetings. The exterior door may be locked, so please knock or wave to us through the window and we'll let you in!
Also, please note that we have some members who have health concerns and vulnerabilities. If you are sick, please consider wearing a mask or staying home this month.
Upcoming Events:
BrickFair Fredericksburg, 29-30 March 2025, Fredericksburg Convention Center, 2371 Carl D Silver Pkwy, Fredericksburg, VA
PLAYTIME: Toys and Art, 12 April – 23 August 2025, Charles H. Taylor Visual Arts Center, 4205 Victoria Boulevard, Hampton VA
BrickUniverse Raleigh, 28-29 June 2025, Raleigh Convention Center, 500 S Salisbury St Raleigh, NC
Recent Events:
In the last few months, our members supported:
Hampton ComiCon
Brick-by-Brick LEGO Shipbuilding with the Hampton Roads Naval Museum
BrickUniverse Augusta County VA
Winter Village Display, Hampton Public Library
"Traveling Bricks" exhibit at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture
Warbirds at the Beach at the Military Aviation Museum
Model Train Show at Chesapeake Central Library,
STEAM event at the Hampton Public Library
NBG Butterfly Festival, Honeybee Festival, and Mushroom Festival
Several members also hit the road for BrickUniverse in Raleigh and Richmond, and BrickRodeo in Texas.
Our City/Town collaborative build, Hardlug Hollow, made its final appearance at the big annual convention, BrickFair in Chantilly, Virginia, August 3rd and 4th along with lots of other cool builds from the club.
See our photos on FaceBook.
BrickFair Fredericksburg 2024 was a resounding success, especially our introduction of Hardlug Hollow in all its bright, shining glory. Thanks to everyone who contributed in this enormous city, airport, and railroad display, and with the utility work which went into making sure it had a functional power grid!
Hampton ComiCon 2025
Thanks to everyone who came out to see us and our friends from the Hampton Roads Naval Museum at Brick by Brick LEGO Shipbuilding in February. It was amazing to see 58,000 square feet of the the Virginia Beach Sports Center devoted to LEGO fun, and we look forward to doing it again next year!
Also in 2024, BrickUniverse came to Chesapeake, Virginia! There were numerous play areas for expo attendees to build to their hearts' content, and HaRdLUG showed off some of our own creations alongside our new friends from RVA-LUG and around the Mid-Atlantic region, not to mention the amazing creations from expert builders Rocco Buttliere and Jonathan Lopes.
Here are some other things we've built recently:
280 Gallon Fish Tank
Medieval Village
About us:
HaRdLUG is a group of adults and older teens in the cities of Hampton Roads, Virginia using LEGO to connect with our local community and each other and celebrating that play is something you never outgrow.
We build to challenge ourselves, to relax, or for a creative outlet.
We use LEGO to share stories, to learn, or to teach.
We follow the latest product releases and innovations, and we dive deep into LEGO history.
We make it up as we go, or we follow instructions. We might even write our own instructions.
We value creativity, collaboration, and community.
We share our passion for LEGO by displaying what we build at public events throughout our region, and are always looking for fun new partnerships which match our volunteer members' interests with the goals of organizations hosting community events.
We have monthly meetings where we usually share some of the projects we are personally working on, plan for future events and collaborative displays, and occasionally have a building challenge or activity.
Come meet us:
If you're interested in joining us, just come to one of our meetings. (Details are at the top of this page.)
Membership in HaRdLUG is driven by participation. We'd love to meet you!

What We've Done Lately:
HaRdLUG has been active in southeast Virginia since 2002, and are constantly displayed our creations at events and venues throughout the region and beyond! Previously, our members supported:
BrickFair Virginia in Chantilly and Fredericksburg
BrickUniverse in Raleigh, Richmond, and Augusta County, Virginia
Winter Village Display at Hampton Public Library
"Traveling Bricks" exhibit at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture in Rickmond
Warbirds at the Beach at the Military Aviation Museum
BrickFest Live in Hampton
Model Train Show at Chesapeake Central Library
STEAM event at Hampton Public Library
BrickRodeo in Texas
Garden of Tomorrow architectural models at Norfolk Botanical Garden
Butterfly, Honeybee, and Mushroom Festivals at Norfolk Botanical Garden.
Tidewater Comicon
Celebration of the NASA Artemis mission at Norfolk's Slover Library. With thx
Brick-by-Brick LEGO Shipbuilding in partnership with Hampton Roads Naval Museum
Norfolk Patriotic Festival
Riverside Hospital
Virginia Aquarium in Virginia Beach
Army Transportation Museum in Yorktown
Children's Museum of Virginia in Portsmouth
Mariners Museum, Newport News
Virginia Living Museum in Newport News
Southside Harley Davidson, Virginia Beach
Various Model Train Shows
FantaSci in Chesapeake, and other celebrations of geekdom
See the latest sets, build a minifigure, or fill up a box of parts from the Pick-A-Brick wall at our local Lego Store at Virginia Beach Town Center.
Also, our local used brick store, Brickin Bad, has recently expanded. Check out their vintage sets and fill a bag at their bulk tables.
And a LEGO FACTORY is under construction near Richmond, VA! Their Visitor Center (in the big yellow bricks) is now open at 1400 Meadowville Rd, Chester, VA
Want To Be A Better Builder?
There are a lot of great ways to up your brick-building game. The best one is to just start building. The key to doing anything well is being willing do it poorly, over and over, until you get better. Your first new creations you make might not look like some of the impressive builds you've seen online, but keep on building and you'll learn and get better each time.
Assembling official LEGO sets from instructions, especially the ones with higher age ranges on the box, is one great way to introduce yourself to building techniques and some of the new parts available.
Tips&Bricks is a prolific creator of infographics to share techniques from some of the latest creations by amazing builders throughout the AFOL community.
Former LEGO set designer Tiago Catarino shares instructions and video tutorials for his creations (as well as doing set reviews and such on his YouTube channel).
Jason Allemann makes LEGO move, in all sorts of ways. And he has a website, JK Brickworks, full of instructions and videos. He's also turned a couple of his ideas into official sets through LEGO Ideas.
At Towering Brick Creations, Deepak Shenoy (Deep Shen) has several great articles on building techniques (and the math behind them, if you're into that sort of thing) that he uses in large architectural builds. Also, he does some great mosaics. Check out his Instagram feed, or read the feature on him at The Brothers Brick.
Just want to know more about all things LEGO? Read a LEGO fan media site like bricknerd.com, with hundreds of articles spanning a huge range of subjects.
Tom Alperin wrote a book about LEGO and architecture, but he is probably known equally well in the community for freely sharing ideas (and labels) for LEGO organization.
Come to a HaRdLUG meeting! We love to share ideas. If we aren't an expert in what you want to learn, we might know someone who is!
"Do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are HaRd." - John F. Kennedy